New figures out today provide a snapshot of life in the North East. Detailed information on all aspects of life in the region has been given out for the first time following the latest release of data from the 2001 Census.

The information is on the Office of National Statistics website and people across the North East can view how they compare with rest of the nation.

The data gives information on the people living and working within the area and their health and employment status, as well as housing and crime.

The population of Newcastle, as measured in the 2001 Census, was 259,536, of which 48 per cent was male and 52 per cent female.

In Durham there were 87,709 people, of whom 49 per cent were male and 51 per cent female while Castle Morpeth totalled 49,001with an exact split of men and women.

With Newcastle being one of the biggest party cities in the world it came as no surprise that there are more people aged between 20 and 29 years old living there than the national average.

There are 16.6 per cent in this age group compared to 12.6 per cent elsewhere. The data also shows there is a concentration of single people living in Newcastle. A total of 38.1 per cent of single people live in the city compared to 30.1 per cent throughout the rest of the country.

The figure for those who have not married in Durham stands at 34.6 per cent while in Morpeth the number of single people is 23 per cent.

The 2001 Census also asked people to describe their health over the preceding 12 months as `Good', `Fairly good' or `Not good'.

A total of 65.1 per cent of people in Newcastle said they were good, that was more than three per cent less than the national average of 68.1 per cent.

While 23.1 per cent said fairly good compared to 22.2 and 11.8 per cent said not good compared to 9.2 per cent. It also asked questions about any limiting long-term illness, health problems or disability which limited peoples' daily activities or the work they could do.

More than 21 per cent of Newcastle residents said they had a long-term illness compared to 18.2 per cent elsewhere.

For the first time the 2001 Census asked a question about any voluntary care provided to look after or give any help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of long-term physical or mental ill-health or disability or problems relating to old age.

And 10.1 per cent of residents gave unpaid care.

There are two main benefits associated with health that are paid to people needing help with personal care. They are the Disability Living Allowance and the Attendance Allowance.

The data also showed that Newcastle has a lower than average employment.

Fifty per cent of people aged 16 to 74 have jobs compared to 60.6 per cent in England and Wales.

In Durham the number of people employed was 51.8 per cent, while in Morpeth the employment figure was 56.9 per cent.

The statistics also showed that Newcastle suffers from a higher than average burglary rate.

A total of 10.9 per cent was recorded per 1,000 population against a 7.6 per cent throughout England and Wales as a whole. The statistics for Durham showed burglary from a dwelling was 4.5 per cent per 1,000 population and in Morpeth the figure was only 2.3 per cent.

The figure was 12.1 per cent per 1,000 compared to 11.4 per cent throughout England and Wales while in Durham the figures were 10.1 per cent and in Morpeth they were half that at just 4.5 per cent.